’Tis the twilight before Christmas and all through the house not a shopper has stirred yet—not even in Taos! The stockings you hung by the chimney are bare, but the thought of the mall makes you rip out your hair. Our Last-Minute Gift Guide should do you some good: We found local shops in your own neighborhood. From the Heights to Corrales, Nob Hill and more, just wait ’til you see what gifts lie in store.

Willy Wonka would approve. Decorated in oversized lollipops and gumdrops, this sugary wonderland has something for every sweet tooth. Melodie Maren opened The Candy Basket in January, and she lets her two boys—7 and 4 years old—help pick what's for sale. Smart move.

Funky Midtown fashion boutique H/G (or Hallowed Ground, to those in the know) packs its San Mateo Pavilions storefront with new and recycled fashion. The style is a mix of cool club wear and '80s fabulous—everything a retro-minded fashionista could want. Twenty bucks seems to be the break point for most items. Two of the store's walls are lined with Hallowed Grounds' own paint-spattered, graffiti-covered T-shirts—which bring to mind Malcolm McLaren's legendary punk boutique SEX by way of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. Several tees are adorned with cassette tape imprints, furthering the '80s aesthetic. And yes, H/G also features a gallery of reasonably priced paintings and drawings from area artists.

Nestled in the Poco-a-Poco garden patio, Tinhorn Toys offers merchandise that couldn’t be more different from the touristy souvenirs that pervade Old Town. This old-fashioned, battery-free store specializes in reproduction tin toys from the '40s, '50s and '60s—there are tops, trains, tea sets and a wide variety of robots. Tinhorn also carries classic toys such as Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, marbles, jacks, tiddlywinks, pick-up sticks and blocks. Bobbie, Tinhorn's exceptionally friendly co-owner, will help you find a gift, be it zombie action figures for an adult child or a sock monkey for a baby.

The Fat Finch calls itself a “Boutique for Birders,” but it’s so much more. Sure, the two-year-old shop owned by lifetime bird enthusiast Roberta Beyer is stocked with seed, feeders, baths, houses and an impressive array of bird-watching books. But you could find something for most anyone on your holiday list here. Its three rooms are dotted with games, puzzles, jewelry, T-shirts, locally hand-painted silk scarves, bath and body products, finger puppets, baby clothes, and some of the best cards we’ve seen in the city. Almost all of the inventory is bird-themed, in styles that range from the more mature to the decidedly hip.

The vibe at Galeria de Corrales is pleasant. It's nestled behind a yarn store on Corrales Road and easy to miss if you aren't looking. But once you find it, an artist on duty will take you on a tour of the newly expanded gallery, which features about 25 artists. Wildlife and landscape paintings abound, but there’s also a good deal of pottery, art clocks, stained glass, quilts, handbags, sculptures big and small, a futuristic metal kachina, and lots of metal working. For those on a budget, there are relatively cheap prints of paintings and greeting cards. Good gift idea: the mirror lined with beer caps. Another has googly eyes.

The Council elected Don Harris as its president during the Monday, Dec. 6 meeting. Councilor Rey Garduño will step in to do his turn as vice president. Former President Ken Sanchez will serve as chairman of the Committee of the Whole. Other appointments were tabled until the Dec. 20 meeting.

Dateline: Ghana—A 72-year-old grandmother suffered a horrific death when she was burned alive by a mob after being accused of witchcraft. As reported in Ghana’s Daily Graphic, a group of five people allegedly tortured Ama Hemmah in order to extract a confession of witchcraft before dousing her in kerosene and setting her on fire. The suspects, including the preacher of a local evangelical church, denied the charges. According to Pastor Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, 55, he and his compatriots were simply praying to exorcise an evil spirit from the woman when the anointing oil they had applied to her body accidentally caught fire. The incident occurred at Site 15, a suburb of Tema Community 1 near the capital city of Accra. A student nurse, who happened upon the scene, attempted to rescue the woman, but the victim died of her burns within 24 hours of arrival at the Tema General Hospital. So far, no arrests have been made, but the case has been turned over to the Attorney General’s Department for possible prosecution.

The 2010 edition of the genre-crazed independent film festival TromaDance New Mexico starts up this weekend at Guild Cinema in Nob Hill. The festival launches on Friday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. with the Troma Entertainment trash classic Tromeo & Juliet, followed by an opening-night screening of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Catholic Church-meets-freakshow freak-out Santa Sangre. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 11 and 12, are filled with blocks of shorts as well as local premieres of the slasher flick Exhibit A-7and the comic art documentary Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods. Locally shot comedy In Trouble and New Mexico-lensed action flickA Lonely Place For Dying will also be screened. Tickets and passes are available at the Guild box office (3405 Central NE).

The consumerist orgy that annually masquerades as Christmas is upon us and—maddeningly awful Mariah Carey Christmas songs aside—preparing to exchange gifts can be a hassle monetarily and sentimentally. Luckily there is some consolation to the annoyance summoned by this spending spree. If you're reading this, chances are you have a few musically inclined folks on your list: Enter the vinyl record, the X-mas shopping fun-maker.

This endearingly crude handmade flyer is one in a series of four announcing a performance by Alabama pop punk band (I’m hearing emo, but that’s a dirty word nowadays) Heroes For Tonight. The four-piece headlines at REVLIS (712 Central SE) on Tuesday, Dec. 14. Show starts at 6 p.m. and is opened by The Ill Motion, Emergency Ahead and Doomed to Exist. Five dollars gets you into the (not emo) show. (Jessica Cassyle Carr)

Matthew Ezzard is the upright-bass player for Swingin’ Meat, purveyor extraordinaire of Albuquerque-based alt.country. Let’s find out what kinds of ditties dwell in Mr. Ezzard’s music library, shall we?

Bodies ... The Exhibition has been up for about two months at the Albuquerque Convention Center (401 Second Street NW, Northwest Exhibit Hall). It features real preserved corpses in various, though usually sports-related, poses.

Holiday gift shopping should never cause the anxiety that it does for so many of us. There’s always that one person you need to shop for who likes ... nothing. Sure, you can rely on blah fallback gifts that leave you feeling vaguely ashamed: something from Bath and Body Works or the Craftsman tool section.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the coming weeks, life will beguile you with secrets and riddles but probably not reveal as much as you'd like. I think this is an opportunity, not a problem. In my opinion, your task isn't to press for shiny clarity, but rather to revel in the luxuriant mysteries. Let them confer their blessings on you through the magic of teasing and tantalizing. And what is the nature of those blessings? To enlighten your irrational mind, stimulate your imagination, teach you patience and nurture your connection with eternity.